1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for shopping at home. More specifically, it relates to a video catalog which is coordinated with an order form, and, optionally, a phone ordering system and home delivery network. The video catalog may display moving or still images, or a combination thereof.
2. Related Art
There has been a trend in consumer marketing to emphasize customer convenience. For instance, working couples, the physically challenged and the elderly can all benefit from shopping services that maximize convenience. Also, smart marketers can profit by supplying the benefit of convenience to these shoppers.
Several types of at-home shopping services exist. First, many businesses provide, in their printed advertising, mail-in or phone-in forms for their customers' use. So, printed order forms appear in newspapers and magazines, and in brochures, "flyers" and pamphlets. Second, many businesses provide printed catalogs with mail-in or phone-in forms enclosed. Third, some businesses provide video-taped presentations of their products. Finally, some businesses advertise their products on T.V. or radio with an accompanying announcement of a mail-in address or a phone-in telephone number.
VonKohorn, U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,592, discloses a broadcast quiz-type merchandizing T.V. program which encourages participation of the remote audience in the program. Participation of the remote audience may be by phone or by keyboard. Sales information is included in the broadcast, and award certificates are made available to the audience, encouraging telephonic purchasing of merchandise.
VonKohorn, U.S. Pat. No. 5,128,752, discloses a broadcast system for displaying merchandise information on a T.V. and generating coupons with a home generating unit. Information regarding the coupons may be stored in the home generating unit for later review by marketing and manufacturing companies. The coupons may be presented to stores for prizes and/or discounts on selected products.
Blutinger et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,566, discloses a computer system for assigning a catalog item number to items that are to be listed in the catalog. The computer executes a program which compares an input item to a master list--if the input item is on the master list, the number on the list is assigned to the input item; if the input item is not on the master list, a new catalog item number is generated and assigned to the input item. This way, each unique item has a corresponding unique catalog number.
VonKohorn, U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,044, also discloses a broadcast system for generating coupons with a home generating unit. In this patent, the information stored in the home generating unit, including product information, may be transmitted back to the T.V. for viewing.